I'm not sporty, and I'm not getting any younger. I wanted to stop guessing about my heart and my sleep.

Office manager Laura Simon, 58 Health 4 owner

👉 Have a read if you want to keep an eye on your health, without the faff.

Lately I've been keeping more of an eye on how I'm doing. Nothing fanatical, no training plans or running zones. Just paying a bit more attention than I used to.

I had one of those basic activity bands. It counted my steps, fair enough, but it didn't really look any further. Nothing about how my heart was doing through the day, or my breathing at night. And it certainly didn't tell me how much my busy days were taking out of me, which is really what I'd started to wonder about.

That's the bit you want to know a bit more about, at this stage of life.

So I went looking for something that did a bit more, without turning into a sports watch I'd need a manual for. I ended up with the Gard Pro Health 4. £109.99 in a sale. So I'll just tell you how I got on with it. What's good, and what isn't.

It watches your heart rhythm, not just your heart rate.

A basic fitness band shows your heart rate. A number. The Health 4 also looks at your heart rhythm, and flags possible signs of atrial fibrillation, AFib for short, meaning an irregular rhythm. So you get a heads-up, even when you feel perfectly fine.

Not as an alarm. Just a nudge: right, you might want to get this looked at. It doesn't diagnose anything. It's not a medical device. It simply shows you something you'd otherwise never have known, so you can get it looked at. That was the difference for me. One just counts. The other actually pays attention.

👉 See the heart-rhythm features

The battery lasts up to about 12 days.

My old fitness band practically needed charging every other day. And if I forgot the once, it'd be dead by morning. Right on the day I wanted to see my sleep. The Health 4 goes up to about 12 days. I now charge it every Sunday morning while I put the kettle on, and then I don't give it a thought all week.

Sounds like a small thing. But it saves you that hunt for a cable every night, and you don't miss any nights in your sleep overview anymore.

👉 See the battery life

No subscription to use all the features.

This surprised me the most. With a lot of these watches, you pay a monthly fee to see half of what's on there. The sleep, your heart-rate trends, that sort of thing. With the Health 4 it's all just there in the free app, Gard Pro Fit. No monthly fee, no "upgrade to premium," nothing. I kept looking for the catch at first, but it never turned up.

I did the maths, because of course I did. A subscription like that is the best part of a hundred pounds a year. The watch was a one-off £109.99. Well, not quite, because I ordered a few nice extra straps with it :)

👉 See what's in the free app

At night it looks at your sleep and your breathing.

Sleep has always been the thing I most wanted to track. I work full-time, and if I sleep badly, I feel it all day. A basic fitness band shows light and deep sleep, neat little graphs. The Health 4 does that too, but goes one step further: it also looks for possible signs of sleep apnoea. Those are brief moments where your breathing pauses at night without you noticing. It flags the pattern, so you can see it for yourself.

It doesn't diagnose this either. It gives you a signal, and what you do with it is up to you. What I like most is that in the morning I have one overview. Not three separate apps, each with its own job.

👉 See all the sleep features

During the day, it shows what the day's really doing to you.

Some days feel busier than others. The Health 4 keeps a stress trend through the day, based on your heart rate and how much it varies. Something you can actually use, not just another number.

The thing I quietly like most is that it confirms what I already felt. That one meeting? I see it come back in the graph that evening. So next time, if I'm hanging on to that wound-up feeling too long, I take a step back, and now and then I'll do a quick two-minute breathing exercise. I feel a fair bit calmer after.

👉 See the stress insights

There's a real company behind it.

A brand I didn't know, for £109.99. That did make me a little cautious, so I tested it before I got carried away. I sent a message on a Tuesday evening, around half seven, with a question about the extra straps, and I had a reply within half an hour. Not some standard automated email, just a simple answer to my question.

Turns out it's a Dutch company. 4.4 on Trustpilot, over 8,000 reviews, and a two-year warranty, which for a watch at this price is more than I'd expected. I didn't know them. Now I see why other people do.

👉 See the reviews on the website

Fair's fair. This isn't a sports watch for someone obsessed with training zones, and you can't pay contactless from your wrist like the pricier well-known ones. It sticks to the things that matter to me: my heart, my sleep, how I'm moving. Plus my messages and calls, without it becoming another screen I end up staring at all day.

For me, that was the whole point. I wanted something to check in on, not a second job.

Sale

UP TO 40% OFF until 30 June

Gard Pro Health 4

Your heart and your sleep in one overview. No subscription, ever. Up to 12 days of battery.

SEE THE HEALTH 4

8000+ Trustpilot reviews

FREE delivery

2-year warranty · 30-day money-back guarantee

Without a doubt a great smart watch. Thought it might get some interference from the work I do. Handling machinery with high hand vibration. No interference whatsoever. Couldn’t recommend enough. Great value for money, robust, waterproof dust proof. Tradesmen dream watch.

The watch is great when comparing it to the Apple ultra top spec which I still use. The Gardpro is literally plug and play, battery life is amazing, highly recommend it for those looking for a time piece that pretty much covers everything a smart watch should. Subtle difference in the calorie measurement though, seems to tally less than the Apple does. Suppose it could be down to settings and config etc… either way great product. Need more watch faces to choose from..

Great customer service, and a fantastic product in the gard pro ultra 3. Excellent battery life and big clear screen which is eay to navigate. Very pleased with my purchase.

Great product,price is the best in this segment and certainly rugged with more than enough features for anyone.

Very happy indeed, quick and easy ordering and transaction. Received it quicker than I expected. The watch is great and well worth the money. I have had mine just over two weeks, I charged it as soon as I got it and I still have over 60% battery life. I have now brought my wife one.

I am very satisfied with my smartwatch. All the health indicators work accurately and it looks very well on . It also feels very light you wouldn't realise you were wearing a watch. I would definitely recommend it.

It was the wedding anniversary gift for my husband and he LOVED IT ! The look with the size of the watch (He is 6"4) is amazing, colour and features (especially at the gym he said). I'm glad that I bought this for him! Very satisfied :)

I bought this watch for my wife because I was so impressed with my own. My wife has several medical issues that require her to monitor her BP, heart rate and body temperature at regular intervals. She has also started trying to increase the number of steps a day to help herself. The Gardpro can do all of this and more for a very competitive price. Highly recommend.

This watch is for my teenage son and he loves it. He says it has long battery life. He checks his text messages, measures his workouts and progress, and says it fits well. Delivery took a little longer than I was expecting but that wasn't a big deal.

The watch is of a very good build quality, it looks sleek and premium. Super easy to set up and the battery (so far) is amazing as I have not had to charge it yet and it's been nearly three weeks! I would certainly recommend as I personally can't justify the prices of the 'branded' smart watches but with this one you dont need to. Loads of features and all working well. Great purchase and a reassuring guarantee from the company.

Great watch. Love the "analogue" face. Easy to navigate. Easy to check daily steps. Robust structure. Comfortable to wear. Excellent for keeping tabs on walking and cycling distances. Very glad I bought it.

The information in the marketing was backed up by a quality product. Very happy with the delivery time and value for money smart watch which has all the features I required. I was also impressed with the clarity and volume of the builtin speaker. The blutooth connection range is also great and better than I expected. All in all a great value for money well made watch.

My Gard pro watch is exactly as it was described. It was easy to set up. I had a problem with my first watch and customer service was prompt in replying and walking me through the process in rectifying the problem. I would definitely recommend this company and watch to friends and family.

I ordered a watch from Gard pro for my partner. He was extremely pleased with it but unfortunately the strap broke. I got in touch with customer service and they sorted it out straight away, even sent me a spare. Fantastic watch and incredible service. Thank you.

I bought a Samsung Smart watch 1st and was so disappointed with the short battery life for the price so got my money back and bought a Ultra 3 and have been amazed with the battery life. All of the functions I wanted in a smart watch work great along with the app so really pleased with the watch and would very much recommend.

This is by far the best watch. The screen and all the other apps are clear. I previously had ultra watch and this health series 3 watch is much better than ultra series. Thank you Gard Pro for your fantastic support.

I have never owned a smartwatch before and had questions about it. Gardpro was very helpful and provided excellent customer service. Thank you!

good communication while watch was being shipped,honest communication. Was easy to set up with app. Seems good quality. Easy reading and good choice of watch faces.

GARD PRO HEALTH 4